is a Japanese horror novel written by Otsuichi about two high school students fascinated by murder. The novel won the Honkaku Mystery Award in 2003. It was adapted into a manga by Kendi Oiwa. In October 2008, they were published in Japan by Kadokawa. Following this, they were published in English by Tokyopop in September, 2008. In 2008, the novel was adapted into a film of the same title directed by Gen Takahashi. The manga and novel was rereleased in North America by VIZ Media in August 2015. The stories were originally published in a single hardcover edition and then later published in the form of two paperback books. Plot The novel contains a series of six short stories about two high school students: beginning with a boy called 'Boku (I)' who remains unnamed until late in the story, and a girl named Yoru Morino. Both of them are strongly attracted to the dark side of human beings. Two of them strangely encounter and become involved in a bizarre case. - Morino finds a diary written by a serial killer. Since it describes a third victim that has yet to be discovered, Morino shows it to a classmate called "Boku", who is a protagonist/narrator of this story. They then encounter a victim themselves. - There have been horrible incidents of animals and humans were cut off their hands and stolen. ‘Boku’ identifies the culprit, coming up with a plan to catch. - The narrator investigates a series of dog kidnappings after his sister discovers a pit filled with their bodies. He finally managed to find out a scene of the crime. - Morino faces trouble sleeping, and is looking for a rope to put around her neck in the belief the right rope will help her sleep. - Saeki spends all his free time gardening, digging holes to try to control his obsession with burying people alive. He killed a young neighbor boy, drowning him in his coffin. Now he snatched another female victim and put her in a coffin. - There was a murder in an abandoned hospital. A few weeks later, a mysterious high school boy gives victim's younger sister a message from the victim, recorded just before she was murdered. Characters Boku The narrator. A handsome high school student obsessed with death. States his passions are to "haunt crime scenes to look for details" and to "stand